Tuesday, November 16, 1976

Game 36: Toyota 108, Crispa 98 (Nov. 16, 1976)

Byron “Snake” Jones and Ompong
Segura's heroics prevented Toyota from being swept by Crispa after
winning Game 3 of their best-of-five showdown for the 1976 PBA Second
Conference crown.

Toyota stays alive in series

Trims Crispa, 108-98

By Ding Marcelo

Bulletin Today

Published Wednesday November 17, 1976

Toyota's back-to-the-wall Silver
Tamaraws, starring Rodolfo Segura and Byron “Snake” Jones in the
fourth quarter, turned the tables on Crispa last night, 108-98, to
stay alive in the best-of-five series for the PBA second conference
championship at the Araneta Coliseum.

Segura and Jones scored six points each
in a crippling 12-4 Toyota attack in the last five minutes that
catapulted Dante Silverio's boys from 90-92 deficit to an
irreversible 104-94 lead.

It was a rousing comeback for the
Silver Tamaraws who had entered the contest as the underdogs
following the 95-92 and 98-93 losses to the Redmanizers in the first
two games of the series.

The series now moves into a fourth game
tomorrow with the two teams clashing in the second game at 7:45 p.m.

The first game at 6 o'clock pits Royal
Tru-Orange against U-Tex also in the game 4 of their own series for
third place. The Orangemen hold a 2-1 edge following a surprise
104-99 win over the Wranglers in last night's first game.

Manuel Paner and Ernesto Estrada seared
for the Orangement with 25 and 24 points, respectively, while Rosalio
Martinez contributed 17 points, including the go-ahead two charities
with one minute left, 97-95. Dennis Edmonds, Royal's other import,
added 13.

For a while, it appeared the
Redmanizers would win the championship via an unprecedented 3-0 sweep
when Baby Dalupan's wards regained the lead, 92-90, six minutes left
from an 88-90 deficit.

But the Silver Tamaraws were not to be
denied. An alternating last and slowbreak in the last five minutes
brought utter confusion into the ranks of the normally cool
Redmanizers who missed three straight attempts and lapsed into a
series of errors, including two by Bernard Fabiosa, the hero of
Crispa's last two victories.

“The boys cooled off,” said a
dejected coach Baby Dalupan after the game, watched by another banner
crowd of 30,000.

“New playing patterns in the last
quarter did it for my boys,” said Toyota coach Dante Silverio, who
had deplored in the harshest of terms officiating in the first two
games of the series.

“If they want to, they could really
be fair,” he said this time as he practically praised referees
Igmidio Cahanding and Remigio Bartolome.

Byron “Snake” Jones, listless and
lethargic in the first two games of the series, was in his venomous
self again as he routed Crispa imports Cyrus Mann and Bill Bunton in
the slot.

Joining Jones in the ranks of Toyota
heroics for the evening were Rodolfo Segura who finally hit his
stride after so-so performances in the past and old reliables Francis
Arnaiz, Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez.

Fortunato Co, Jr. of Crispa drilled in
a game-high 32 points. He unabashedly shed tears after the final
buzzer sounded.

It was Co, together with Alfredo
Hubalde who gave Crispa an 80-72 lead midway in the third quarter.
Hubalde shot 23 points.